name

'2014 MU69' just not that catchy

(Newser) -
Heads up, armchair travelers. NASA is seeking a nickname for a tiny, icy world on the edge of the solar system that's the next destination for New Horizons, the spacecraft that surveyed Pluto. New Horizons whipped past Pluto two years ago, and now it's headed for 2014 MU69—...
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He originally said he wanted to be called Love or Brother Love

(Newser) -
The artist who has been known as Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, Diddy, and so forth appeared to have given himself yet another name change for his 48th birthday—but he's since revealed it was just a joke. The rapper and media mogul, who was born Sean Combs, tweeted...
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Tom Colicchio says he didn't know about racial beliefs of men he named it after

(Newser) -
A celebrity chef has spent tens of thousands of dollars to quietly change the name of his Manhattan restaurant after he discovered its meaning had racial undertones. Per the New York Times , Tom Colicchio, the lead judge on Bravo's Top Chef, originally called his eatery in the New York...
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It's not 'Orangutan McOrangutanface'

(Newser) -
A rare albino orangutan rescued from captivity in a Borneo village has been given a new name with the help of online suggestions—and remarkably, it isn't "Orangutan McOrangutanface." The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, which received thousands of suggestions, says the 5-year-old female will be called "...
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(Newser) -
If you've ever been blown away by Pink Floyd, you'll get why scientists just named a similarly thunderous crustacean in its honor. Per a post in the Zootaxa journal , a species of pistol shrimp with an intensely colored red-pink claw, found in the Pacific Ocean near Panama, has...
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The 21-year-old joined a surprise 30th birthday trip

(Newser) -
When a complete stranger messaged Joe McGrath on Facebook last week about a free trip to Spain, the 21-year-old in Manchester, England, thought it sounded like a hoax. But he says the invitation kept replaying in his head, and soon he found himself on the phone with a man who...
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He's offered a cruise as publicity stunt

(Newser) -
Royal Caribbean has crowdsourced the public before to help it name its cruise ships, but it's tapping into a rather unusual source this time around: the guy who came up with "Boaty McBoatface." The company invited British bloke James Hand—whose "whimsical moniker," as a...
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It's James Smith, according to two groups of analysts

(Newser) -
Statistical experts at FiveThirtyEight.com undertook a project last week to discover the most common name in the US. Based on an investigation of Social Security Administration first-name records, Census data on last names, adjusted probabilities, and a number of statistical steps, the site ultimately estimated that "James Smith"...
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And if you want people to trust your kid, give him an easy-to-pronounce name: studies

(Newser) -
Want to be seen as an intellectual? Here's an easy first step: Start using your middle initial in writing. Doing so, a study finds, boosts "positive evaluations of people's intellectual capacities and achievements." The study—run by researchers Wijnand A.P. van Tilburg and Eric R....
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He's had to file a lawsuit over credit reporting issue

(Newser) -
If you thought Rainbow Aurora , Lyric Sonny Roads Goldberg , Janice Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele , and whoever made these laws necessary had it bad, consider the plight of God Gazarov. The Russian-born Gazarov was named after his grandfather, and now lives in Brooklyn. But the 26-year-old businessman was recently rejected for an auto loan...
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Says original judge acted unconstitutionally by ordering name change

(Newser) -
A Tennessee woman will be allowed to name her 8-month-old son "Messiah," a judge ruled today, overturning an order from another judge who said the boy's name should be changed to Martin because "'Messiah' is a title that is held only by Jesus Christ."...
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It's 'Janice Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele'

(Newser) -
Janice Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele was used to her last name not fitting on her Hawaii driver's license, which drops the last letter (and must also exclude her first or middle name). But now her state ID—which she's always carried because it included her full name—also includes the shortened...
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She names child 'Martin' instead

(Newser) -
According to one Tennessee judge, only one person in history deserves the name "Messiah"—so on Thursday she changed a 7-month-old's name to Martin instead. "The word Messiah is a title and it's a title that has only been earned by one person and that...
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They respond to 'signature whistles': researchers

(Newser) -
Sure, call him Flipper, but he's probably already got a name among his own kind. Bottlenose dolphins appear to have individual identifying whistles, researchers in Scotland find. The scientists recorded the "signature whistles" of several of the animals in a group, along with other sounds they make. The...
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'Blaer,' meaning 'light breeze,' wasn't on list of OK names

(Newser) -
An Icelandic 15-year-old whose name had been, for all official purposes, just "Girl," has won a lawsuit to keep her given name. Iceland's government had held that she couldn't use the name Blaer because it wasn't on the country's approved-name list, which rules out...
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Government says 'Blaer' is not on the approved list

(Newser) -
The unusual lawsuit of the day comes from Iceland, where a 15-year-old is suing the government to keep her given name of "Blaer." The problem, as the AP explains, is that it's not on the list of 1,853 approved names for girls. It translates into "...
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Anonymity offers the chance for a fresh start: Alina Simone

(Newser) -
Twelve years ago, Alina Vilenkin took her mother's maiden name and became Alina Simone, and with the switch came a whole new life. She went from being a person who never followed through on anything to one who finally pursued her true passion: singing. "I changed my name...
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Experts say yes in new study

(Newser) -
Ever noticed how perfect the name Wordsworth is for a poet, or wondered whether Usain Bolt's last name prompted his running career? Researchers are currently investigating whether one's name can influence one's choice of job, with one study already suggesting it can. Indeed, it's become a...
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You'll find more traditional names in the original 13 states

(Newser) -
Sarah Palin's brood—Bristol, Willow, Track, Piper, and Trig—are more typical than you think, at least when it comes to their names. Babies born in the youngest of the 50 states have more unusual names than newborns in the original 13 states and their neighbors, finds a new study....
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